Devices, an Alternative for Surgical Male Circumcision With Adolescents Ages 13-17 Years in Zimbabwe?

Between October 2015 and January 2016, PrePex circumcisions were conducted at three VMMC clinics and adolescents circumcised using PrePex during routine service delivery were actively followed up. A total of 562 men (ages 13-17) were circumcised across the three active surveillance sites. Of these, 256 (45.5%) opted for PrePex but only 168 were eligible. The 88/256 (34.4%) that were ineligible were surgically circumcised. Reasons for ineligibility included: adhesions/tight foreskin/frenulum (n=58, 65.9%), mostly in 13 (n=40/58, 69%) and 14 year olds (n=10/58, 17.2%); presence of sexually transmitted infections (n=2, 2.3%); urinary tract infection (n=1, 1.1%). In 27 adolescents (30.7%), the available PrePex device sizes were too large mostly in boys aged 13 (n=18, 66.7%) and 14 years (n=8, 29.6%). These preliminary results suggest that the device is both safe and acceptable when used with adolescents 13-17 years in routine service delivery.